Youth Leaders in the Biopharmaceutical Industry Attend Advanced Training Program at the Central Institute of Socialism

From July 1 to 4, the Talent Center of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) successfully held the third Advanced Training Program for Young Leaders of the Private Sector, focusing on the biopharmaceutical industry, at the Central Institute of Socialism. A total of 36 young entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and young scientific and technological professionals from across China participated in the program.

Li Shulin, Secretary of the Party Branch and Director of the Talent Center; Gong Ming, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Chief Physician, and Director of the Heart Failure and Valvular Surgery Center at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University; and Bao Xiaofeng, Deputy Secretary-General of the Young Entrepreneurs Committee of the ACFIC and Secretary-General of the Beijing Young Entrepreneurs Association for Innovation and Development, attended the opening ceremony. Gao Bo, Deputy Director of the Talent Center, presided over the ceremony.

Li Shulin delivered the opening remarks. He noted that young entrepreneurs, with their active minds, forward-looking perspectives, and keen insights, represent a vital force for the transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development of China's private economy. He encouraged participants to foster a strong sense of national responsibility and embrace their historical mission, taking the lead in advancing China's industries and contributing to the country's development. He called on them to remain committed to innovation, build sustainable businesses with perseverance, and take the initiative in cutting-edge exploration and technological breakthroughs. He also emphasized the importance of operating in compliance with the law, taking responsibility, and making steady progress in intergenerational succession and sustainable business development.

Understanding the Landscape and Taking Action: Charting the Course for Development

The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical five-year period for laying a solid foundation and making full progress toward the basic realization of socialist modernization. Only by understanding China's current stage of development and accurately grasping the characteristics of the new development stage can continued progress and new achievements be made on the path toward modernization.

Against this backdrop, the program invited Bai Chong'en, Member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Vice Chairman of the ACFIC, and Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, to deliver a keynote lecture. He noted that the 15th Five-Year Plan period will be a critical stage for optimizing China's economic structure, with consumption and the expansion of domestic demand expected to become major drivers of economic growth. Innovation will be essential to overcoming bottlenecks and barriers to economic development. He encouraged entrepreneurs to see through uncertainty, understand the evolving landscape, take a long-term view, and pursue innovation with determination. At the same time, they should maintain strategic focus while adopting a strong bottom-line mindset and strengthening risk anticipation and emergency response mechanisms, thereby consolidating their foundations amid change and moving forward with determination amid challenges.

Pursuing Innovation and Practicality: Fostering Innovation and Building Core Competencies

Gao Fu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a lecture on viral entry mechanisms, vaccine development, and the translation of scientific research from basic research to products. Drawing on his team's frontline experience in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, he illustrated pathways for collaborative scientific research and technological breakthroughs. His presentation inspired young entrepreneurs to embrace the new wave of technological revolution, including artificial intelligence, focus on people's health needs, and pursue bold and sustained innovation.

Gong Ming, Director of the Heart Failure and Valvular Surgery Center at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, introduced the latest advances in cardiovascular surgery and shared the hospital's experience in translating medical innovations into practical applications, helping young entrepreneurs identify development opportunities arising from technological advances.

Lin Changqing, Part-Time Vice Chairman of the Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of Beijing Hotgen Biotech Co., Ltd., noted that China's innovative drug industry is entering a new era of innovation. He explained how three key drivers—novel targets, novel mechanisms, and novel tools—are reshaping the paradigm of drug discovery and development. He also provided an in-depth overview of Hotgen Biotech's strategic evolution from specialized diagnostics to innovative pharmaceuticals, as well as its research and industrial translation ecosystem driven by multiple models of collaboration.

Dr. Wang Zhe, former Full-Time Director of China Energy Investment Corporation, proposed a “three-dimensional model” of information, methodology, and experience for leadership in the new era. Through practical cases, he shared strategies for applying the model in an integrated manner.

Cross-Sector Collaboration: Bridging Academia and Industry to Drive Innovation

The program featured a dedicated expert-sharing session, providing a platform for young entrepreneurs and young scientific and technological professionals to exchange ideas and foster collaboration. The session closely connected the research capabilities of universities and research institutions with the innovation needs of private enterprises, facilitating seamless integration between innovation and industrial chains and promoting the two-way empowerment and deep integration of scientific and industrial innovation.

Chen Junge, Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Beihang University, shared the latest research progress and achievements in engineered extracellular vesicles and intelligent drug delivery.

Zhao Weidong, Associate Researcher at Beijing Institute of Technology, focused on China's transition from a disease-centered healthcare model to a people-centered health model. Under the theme “Research on the Application of Nano-Assembly SERS Technology in In Vitro Diagnostics,” he shared the latest research and application progress in this field.

Liu Juan, Professor at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, introduced cutting-edge advances in organoid and organ-on-a-chip technologies and highlighted their critical role in the drug development process.

Learning from Best Practices: Drawing on Advanced Experience to Accelerate Development

The program also included field visits to Beijing E-Town Biopharmaceutical Park and Yuekang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., where participants gained first-hand insights into advanced practices in the biopharmaceutical industry.

At Beijing E-Town Biopharmaceutical Park, the young entrepreneurs visited the Etown Bio Public Technology Service Platform and gained an in-depth understanding of the park's integrated innovation service system encompassing research and development, incubation, and industrialization.

At Yuekang Pharmaceutical Group, participants gained an immersive understanding of the entire pharmaceutical industry chain, from innovative drug discovery and development to intelligent manufacturing, quality control, and the implementation of innovative technologies. They also experienced first-hand Yuekang Pharmaceutical's commitment to its quality philosophy that “one hundred points means quality, while ninety-nine points means zero,” as well as its mission of advancing the upgrading of China's biopharmaceutical industry through innovation at the source.

This study visit not only gave participants a first-hand understanding of the vitality of cutting-edge technologies, but also opened up new perspectives for cross-sector industrial collaboration and technology translation.

At the closing ceremony, Yang Xiaodong, Chairman of Kunlun Jianyuan (Xinjiang) Biotechnology Co., Ltd.; Liu Zhaoqi, Assistant to the Board of Directors and General Manager of the Medical Aesthetics Division of Yuekang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.; Zhang Jianxin, Founder and General Manager of Suzhou Yiman Biotechnology Co., Ltd.; and He Jianming, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., spoke as representatives of the participants.

Gao Bo delivered closing remarks and summarized the program. Participants expressed their commitment to applying what they had learned to enterprise development, addressing development challenges through more systematic approaches, and devoting themselves to building stronger, better, and larger enterprises. They also pledged to contribute their youthful energy to the high-quality development of China's biopharmaceutical industry.